Fitness tests, fishing and some undesirable clothing choices

With only a matter of weeks to go until the 2017/18 EHF Champions League season throws off, we take a light-hearted look at what is going on in the pre-season lives of Europe’s elite players.

Whether it’s Luka Karabatic’s aquatic skills, Jesper Noddesbo’s newfound love for painting or Andrea Lekic’s summer spectacles, we have it covered. Here are some of the best bits of what Europe's biggest names were sharing over the past week on their social media channels.

Getting their sweat on…

With only nine weeks until the group phase of the VELUX EHF Champions League both northern German sides THW Kiel and SG Flensburg-Handewitt are already putting their players through their paces. Both Group B sides are taking the initial stages of the pre-season to test their squad’s cardio; THW’s looking particularly gruesome - poor Sebastian Firnhaber.

What better way to spend the height of summer than sitting by a lake side fishing – seems to be quite the popular off-season pastime for 2002 Champions League winner and commentator Stefan Kretzschmar, who had a successful outing netting a hefty catch.

It was time for a change for Jesper Noddesbo who decided after 10 years with handball giants FC Barcelona Lassa that it was time for a move home to his native Denmark.

Come September, the 36-year-old line player will be wearing the colours of Bjerringbro-Silkeborg, and it looks like he is beginning to set up his new life in Aarhus away – for this season at least - from Champions League handball.